Shapeshifter
Info
Sections
Frontpanel
Combo Modes
Sync Modes
Pulse Modes
MOD A
Wavetables
Chords
Presets
General
Info
Shapeshifter
Shapeshifter is a digital complex oscillator created by Intellijel and Cylonix.
Links
Shapeshifter HomeShapeshifter Manual
Note: Some images are derived from the official Shapeshifter manual and are used with permission from Intellijel.
Sections
Frontpanel
Frontpanel | |
This section describes the frontpanel functionality of the Shapeshifter. It also serves as a decent overview of the synthesis options available. After pressing a panel button, in most cases turn the left data encoder to change the value of the displayed parameter. Note: Preset mode is covered in it's own section. |
Frontpanel: Top Left | |
WAVE BANK | Press to edit the wavetable bank for OSC1. Press again to edit the wavetable bank for OSC2. |
SYNC / PULSE | Press one or more times to edit (in order) OSC1 sync, OSC2 sync, Pulse output mode. See the additional sections for description of sync and pulse modes. |
MOD A | Press to edit the modulation destination for MODA input. Press again to edit whether OSC2 output modifies SHAPE1, TILT, or nothing. |
MULTI / CHORD TYPE |
The MULTI setting for each oscillator joins subsequent waveforms from the wavetable into a single waveform. For example when MULTI for OSC 1 is set to 2, OSC 1 will emit one cycle of the current waveform, then one cycle of the next waveform in the wavetable, then back to one cycle of the first waveform, etc. Press MULTI to edit OSC1 multi. Press again to edit OSC2 multi. If CHORD MODE is activated, press a third time to edit CHORD TYPE. See "Chord Types" section for a description of all chord types available. |
Frontpanel: Top Right | |
COMBO MODE |
Press to change the mode how OSC1 and OSC2 are combined before being sent to OUT1. Press a second time to enable MOD B control over COMBO MODE. See "Combo Modes" sections for description of each combo mode. |
TILT / CHORD DRIVE |
TILT phase modulates OSC 1 with it's own output, effectively "tilting" the waveform. Press to modify the TILT level for OSC 1. Press a second time to enable MOD B control over TILT. When CHORD MODE is active, this button edits CHORD DRIVE instead of TILT. CHORD DRIVE amplifies, then clips, each voice in the chord. |
DELAY DEPTH |
OUT1 is optionally run through a delay line whose delay time is equal to OSC2 frequency. Press to edit delay depth, which sets both the amount of delay feedback and the wet/dry output ratio. Press again to enable MOD B modulation of DELAY DEPTH. Set OSC2 to LFO mode for a traditional delay effect, or set it to audio rate for the delay line to act as a resonator. |
CHORD DETUNE / PERC DECAY |
If CHORD MODE is enabled, press to edit CHORD DETUNE, which fattens the chord sound by detuning each oscillator. Press a second time to enable MOD B modulation of CHORD DETUNE. If PERCUSSION MODE is enabled, the percussion envelope decay time (PERC DELAY) will be edited when this button is pressed instead. Press a second time to enable MOD B modulation of PERC DELAY. |
Frontpanel: Middle Section | |
QUANT and RATIO/TIME |
When QUANT is disabled, OSC 2's frequency is controlled by PITCH 2, offset by RATIO. When QUANT is enabled, PITCH 2 input is ignored and OSC 2's frequency is a fixed fraction or multiple ratio OSC 1's frequency, controlled by RATIO. The possible frequency ratios for OSC 2 are 1/8, 3/16, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, 1, 5/4, 3/2, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8. When QUANT is flashing, OSC 2's frequency is clocked to an incoming clock signal present on the PITCH 2 input. RATIO controls a clock divider / multiplier with possible ratios of 1/24, 1/16, 1/12, 1/8, 1/6, 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12. In this case, the LFO2 setting is ignored. |
INT FM | This knob, combined with the INT. FM CV input, controls how much OSC 2's output modulates OSC 1's frequency. |
INT. SYNC |
When lit, both OSC 1 and OSC 2 are synced to an internal oscillator running at the same base frequency as OSC 1 (but not affected by OSC 1 FM inputs). When flashing, the internal oscillator is set to half of OSC 1's frequency. See "Sync Modes" to understand how OSC 1 and OSC 2 will react to sync. |
COARSE / FINE | These provide an offset to both OSC 1 and OSC 2 frequency. |
LFO / 1 / 2 |
Press to cycle through setting OSC 2, OSC 1, or both to LFO speeds, lowered by 7 octaves. When LFO 2 is enabled and QUANT is disabled, OSC 2's frequency is no longer affected by COARSE and FINE knobs. |
CHORD MODE |
When enabled, OSC1 emits 8-oscillator chords, controlled by CHORD TYPE and CHORD DETUNE. Some other frontpanel buttons change functionality with CHORD MODE enabled. |
SHAPE 1 / SHAPE 2 | SHAPE 1 and SHAPE 2 (combined with their respective CV inputs) choose a smoothly interpolated waveform for OSC 1 and OSC 2 from their currently selected wave banks. |
PERC MODE |
When PERCUSSION MODE enabled, an envelope controls the gain of OUT 1. The envelope decay time is controlled by the PERC DECAY parameter. Press PERC MODE once to enable PERCUSSION MODE, where the decay envelope is triggered by a rising edge on the SYNC input. Press PERC MODE a second time and the decay envelope will remain high as long as SYNC input is high. |
FOLD | FOLD knob plus FOLD CV input controls the depth of the analog wavefolding applied to the FOLD input (which is normaled to OUT 1). |
Frontpanel: Modulation Row | |
RATIO | Combines with RATIO knob. See QUANT / RATIO above. |
INT. FM | Combines with INT. FM knob to determine the depth of internal frequency modulation. |
FM 1 | Modulates OSC 1 frequency. |
FOLD CV | Combines with FOLD knob to determine depth of wavefolding applied to FOLD input. |
MOD A | AC-coupled input to the MOD A modulation bus. Note that it is normaled to OUT 1, so even with nothing plugged in the MOD A attenuator controls the depth of modulation and a signal is present. |
SHAPE 1 / SHAPE 2 | Combines with SHAPE 1 / SHAPE 2 knobs to calculate OSC 1 and OSC 2 positions within their active wavetable banks. |
MOD B | Combines with MOD B knob to determine the value of the MOD B modulation bus. |
Frontpanel: Bottom Row | |
PEAK / LFO 1 |
When OSC 1 is not in LFO mode, this LED indicates either FM 1 or MOD A inputs are hitting the limits of their ranges and are clipping. When OSC 1 is in LFO mode, this LED is lit when OSC 1's polarity is positive. |
PITCH 1 / PITCH 2 | 1V/oct voltage inputs for OSC 1 and OSC 2. PITCH 2 is normalled to PITCH 1. When QUANT mode is flashing, PITCH 2 expects a clock signal to sync to instead of a V/oct signal. |
SYNC |
Rising edges on this input will cause OSC 1 and OSC 2 to sync based on their active SYNC modes. When PERC mode is activated this input controls the percussion envelope. |
FOLD IN | Input to the onboard analog wavefolder, normalled to OUT 1. |
OUT 1 | Output 1, which is the result of OSC 1 optionally combined with OSC 2, optionally through the percussion mode envelope, then optionally through the delay line. |
OUT 2 | Oscillator 2 output. |
Pulse | Configurable pulse (0-5v) output controlled by PULSE setting. |
FOLD | Output of the analog wavefolder. |
PULSE / LFO 2 |
When OSC 2 is not in LFO mode, this LED indicates when the PULSE output is high. When OSC 2 is in LFO mode, this LED indicates when OSC 2 polarity is positive. |
Combo Modes
Combo Modes | |
To change combo modes press COMBO MODE and rotate the data encoder. Press COMBO MODE twice to modulate combo mode via MOD B. |
Mode | Description |
osc1 | OUT1 is the bitwise result of OSC1 AND OSC2. |
ring | OUT1 is OSC1 ring modulated (or multiplied) by OSC2. |
min | OUT1 is equal to whichever OSC has a lower value. |
pong | OUT1 is OSC1 if it is positive, otherwise OSC2 if it is negative, otherwise 0. |
inlv | OUT1 is the result of interleaving the bits of OSC1 and OSC2's values. First bit from OSC1, then a bit from OSC2, ... |
and | OUT1 is the bitwise result of OSC1 AND OSC2. |
xor | OUT1 is the bitwise result of OSC1 XOR OSC2. |
gLcH | OUT1 is the result of a complex bitwise algorithm combining OSC1 and OSC2. |
Sync Modes
Sync Modes | |
Both oscillators can be synced:
When INT SYNC is flashing, the internal sync oscillator is half the frequency as OSC1. Press SYNC/PULSE/STEP and turn data encoder to select sync modes for each oscillator. |
Mode | Description |
Hard | Oscillator phase is reset to zero when sync occurs. |
Soft | Oscillator phase is reset to zero if it is within the first 1/4 of it's cycle when sync occurs. |
Rev | The oscillator direction is reversed when a sync event occurs. |
Hold | Oscillator switches between holding a steady value, and running normally, on each sync event. |
1shot | Oscillator runs for one cycle of the waveform on each sync event. Useful in LFO mode to act as a complex envelope. |
Bump | Oscillator's phase is incremented by 1/4 a wavecycle on each sync event. |
2=1 Sync | Same as Hard mode, but also generates additional sync events on oscillator 2 whenever oscillator 2 and 1 have equal output values. |
1=2 Sync | Same as Hard mode, but also generates additional sync events on oscillator 1 whenever oscillator 1 and 2 have equal output values. |
Off | Sync events have no effect on the oscillator. |
Pulse Modes
Pulse Modes | |
Pulse mode controls the PULSE output signal functionality, which outputs either a 0v or 5v value. Press SYNC/PULSE twice and rotate data encoder to modify PULSE function. |
Mode | PULSE output |
+o1 | high when either oscillator 1 is positive, otherwise 0. |
+o2 | high when either oscillator 2 is positive, otherwise 0. |
EOC | high at the end of the PERC MODE envelope, low while PERC MODE envelope is decaying. If PERC MODE is disabled, PULSE will always be high. |
-o2 | high when oscillator 2 is negative. |
OR | high when oscillator 1 or 2 is positive. |
AND | high when oscillator 1 and 2 is positive. |
XOR | high when one of oscillator 1, or 2, but not both, are positive. |
gLcH | high when the result of the gLcH combo mode would be positive. This is available for PULSE even if gLcH is not the active COMBO MODE. |
sq1 | square wave with frequency equal to oscillator 1. |
sq2 | square wave with frequency equal to oscillator 2. |
pmw1 | pulse width waveform with frequency equal to oscillator 1, and variable width controlled by SHAPE 1. |
pmw2 | pulse width waveform with frequency equal to oscillator 2, and variable width controlled by SHAPE 2. |
1>2 | high when the value of oscillator 1 is higher than oscillator 2. |
1<2 | high when the value of oscillator 1 is lower than oscillator 2. |
RND1 | random value, updated once at the start of every cycle of oscillator 1. |
RND2 | random value, updated once at the start of every cycle of oscillator 2. |
MOD A
MOD A Destinations | |
MOD A modulation input is high speed (96khz) and AC-coupled. It is normalized to OUT 1, so even with nothing patched the MOD A attenuator is an important control for the output of the patch. To Change MOD A modulation destination, press MOD A / MORPH and turn the data encoder. |
Mode | Description |
Phase2 | MOD A modulates the phase of oscillator 2. |
Combo 2 | MOD A's signal is sent into the COMBO MODE oscillator combiner in place of oscillator 2. |
Shaper 2 | MOD A is used to address the wavetable for oscillator 2. PITCH 2 and RATIO have no effect, and instead the MOD A signal is converted to an address in oscillator 2's waveform. For example, a rising sawtooth sent to MOD A would emit oscillator 2's waveform at the same rate as the input sawtooth. |
Voc MOD | MOD A is used as the modulation signal for the 64-band vocoder. The output of the oscillator COMBO is used as the carrier signal. |
Phase 1 | MOD A modulates the phase of oscillator 1. |
Combo 1 | MOD A's signal is sent into the COMBO MODE oscillator combiner in place of oscillator 1. |
Shaper 1 | MOD A is used to address the wavetable for oscillator 1. In Chord Mode only the first oscillator is affected. |
Voc CARR | MOD A is used as the carrier signal for the 64-band vocoder. |
Sync 2 | MOD A is used as the sync input for oscillator 2, allowing oscillators 1 and 2 to be syncronized to different signals. |
PrstStep | MOD A is used as a trigger to step in PRESET STEP mode. This allows the SYNC input to be used for sync signals or preset stepping. |
Wavetables
Basic1

Basic2

BasRec

BiPuls

BitCr1

BitCr2

BitCr3

BitCr4

Buzzer

Cello1

Cello2

Chip1

Chip2

Chip3

Chip4

Chip5

Chip6

Chirp1

Chirp2

Chirp3

Chirp4

Chirp5

Chirp6

Chirp7

Chirp8

Chirp9

Chrp10

Chrp11

Chrp12

Chrp13

Chrp14

Chrp15

Chrp16

Chrp17

Chrp18

Chrp19

Chrp20

Clmet

Clav1

Clav2

Dstrt1

Dstrt2

Dstrt3

eBass1

eBass2

eBass3

eBass4

ePian1

ePian2

ePian3

ePian4

ePian5

Flute1

GapSaw

Grain1

Grain2

Grain3

Gitar1

Gitar2

Gitar3

Gitar4

Harmo1

Harmo2

Harmo3

LFO1

LFO2

LFO3

LFO4

LFO5

LFO6

LFO7

LFO8

LFO9

LFO10

LFO11

LFO12

LFO13

LFO14

LFO15

LFO16

LFO17

LFO18

LFO19

LFO20

LFO21

Misc1

Misc2

Misc3

Misc4

Noise1

Noise2

Noise3

Noise4

Noise5

Noise6

Oboes

Chvlo1

Chvlo2

Raw1

Raw2

Raw3

ResPls

ResSaw

ResSqu

Saxoph

Symmtr

Thrmin

2Tone1

2Tone2

2Tone3

2Tone4

2Tone5

2Tone6

2Tone7

2Tone8

2Tone9

VidGm1

VidGm2

VidGm3

VidGm4

Violin

Vocal1

Vocal2

Vocal3

Vocal4

Vocal5

Vocal6

Vocal7

Chords
Chord Mode | |
When CHORD MODE is enabled, oscillator 1 emits 8 waveforms with the same shape, but different frequencies. Press CHORD MODE and rotate data encoder to pick the chord shape (see table below). Chord voices can also be detuned and overdriven via CHORD DETUNE and CHORD DRIVE functions which are active when CHORD MODE is active. |
Chord Mode | Description |
uniso | Unison |
m2nd | Minor 2nd interval (1 semitone) |
M2nd | Major 2nd interval |
m3rd | Minor 3rd interval |
M3rd | Major 3rd interval |
4th | 4th interval |
trito | Tritone interval |
5th | 5th interval |
aug5 | Augmented 5th interval |
6th | 6th interval |
m7th | Minor 7th interval |
M7th | Major 7th interval |
octav | Octave interval |
suboc | Suboctave |
2oct | Octave + 2octave |
minor | Minor triad |
minI1 | Minor triad / 1st inversion |
minI2 | Minor triad / 2nd inversion |
major | Major triad |
majI1 | Major triad / 1st inversion |
majI2 | Major triad / 2nd inversion |
sus | Suspended triad |
aug | Augmented triad |
dim | Diminished triad |
maj6 | Major 6th |
maj7 | Major 7th |
7M1st | Major 7th / 1st inversion |
7M2nd | Major 7th / 2nd inversion |
7M3rd | Major 7th / 3rd inversion |
dom | Dominant 7th |
7D1st | Dominant 7th / 1st inversion |
7D2nd | Dominant 7th / 2nd inversion |
7D3rd | Dominant 7th / 3rd inversion |
min7 | Minor 7th |
7m1st | Minor 7th / 1st inversion |
7m2nd | Minor 7th / 2nd inversion |
7m3rd | Minor 7th / 3rd inversion |
hdim7 | Half diminished 7th |
7h1st | Half diminished 7th / 1st inversion |
7h2nd | Half diminished 7th / 2nd inversion |
7h3rd | Half diminished 7th / 3rd inversion |
dim7 | Diminished 7th |
7d1st | Diminished 7th / 1st inversion |
7d2nd | Diminished 7th / 2nd inversion |
7d3rd | Diminished 7th / 3rd inversion |
7sus | Suspended 7th |
7s1st | Suspended 7th / 1st inversion |
7s2nd | Suspended 7th / 2nd inversion |
7s3rd | Suspended 7th / 3rd inversion |
D9th | Dominant 9th |
9D2nd | Dominant 9th / 2nd inversion |
Dm9th | Dominant minor 9th |
Dm9-2 | Dominant minor 9th / 2nd inversion |
maj9 | Major 9th |
9M2nd | Major 9th / 2nd inversion |
min9 | Minor 9th |
9m2nd | Minor 9th / 2nd inversion |
M6/9 | Major 6/9 |
m6/9 | Minor 6/9 |
9b5 | 9th, flat 5th |
9#5 | 9th, sharp 5th |
D11th | Dominant 11th |
m11th | Minor 11th |
CH*(...) | When Chord type begins with a *, it is controlled by MODB. Enable by selecting the last entry in the chord type list. |
Presets
Preset Mode |
Use Preset mode to load, save, sequence and morph between 100 stored presets. A preset contains values for every knob and patch setting. When a preset is loaded, the physical knob positions are ignored until the knob is moved. The last loaded preset is remembered by the Shapeshifter, and reloaded on powerup. |
Preset: Key Combos | |
Hold COMBO MODE and press MORPH to randomize all preset values. Hold COMBO MODE and press LOAD to initialize all preset values. |
Preset Mode: Controls | |
SAVE |
Press to begin saving into the currently displayed "Preset ##"" slot number. The LCD will display "Save? No". Rotate encoder until it the LCD displays "Save? YES". Then press SAVE again. |
LOAD |
Press to load the currently displayed "Prset ##" slot number into the active patch. |
MORPH |
Press to begin morphing between the current panel settings and a chosen preset. Rotate the left data encoder to change presets. Use MOD B knob and CV input to morph between panel state (counter-clockwise) and the preset value (clockwise). Note: INT SYNC and PERC MODE are always read from the panel state and are not morphed. |
Preset Stepping | |
Press STEP to enter preset stepping mode. In preset step mode, a series of presets are sequenced via either triggers sent to SYNC or by setting MOD A to "PrstStep". Turn the left rotary encoder to choose between the seven settings for preset step mode. |
|
Fwd: NN | Press STEP to step through presets in a forward direction when a trigger is sent to SYNC. |
Rev: NN | Press STEP to step through presets in a reverse direction when a trigger is sent to SYNC. |
Fw/Rv: NN | Press STEP to step through presets in a forward direction to the last preset, then reverse back to the first preset, when a trigger is sent to SYNC. |
RandP: NN | Press STEP to step through presets randomly between the beginning and ending preset number when a trigger is sent to SYNC. |
RandS: NN | Press STEP to randomize all preset parameters when a trigger is sent to SYNC. Presets are not used. |
Mod B: NN | Press STEP to continuously select the preset by the value of MOD B knob and CV input. |
Begin: NN | Press STEP and rotate the left data encoder to select the starting preset number to sequence from. |
End: NN | Press STEP and rotate the left data encoder to select the ending preset number to sequence from. |
Div: NN | Press STEP and rotate the left data encoder to configure a clock divider for incoming triggers on SYNC. For example, when set to 8, the preset will change to the next in sequence after 8 incoming trigger pulses. |
Preset Naming | |
Hold down COMBO MODE and press STEP to edit the preset name. Turn the encoder to change characters, and press COMBO MODE to edit the next character. |